Hot rolled coils settled September on the CME at $542 per ton while Platts ($539 average) and SMU ($530 average) saw market prices as being weaker. The SMU Price Momentum Index pointed toward lower prices throughout the month and ended the month suggesting prices will continue to slide as we move into the month of […] The post A Closer Look at September 2016 appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Market sources are advising Steel Market Update to expect lower ferrous scrap prices in October. We are hearing the expectation by the dealers is for prices to drop anywhere from $15 to $40 per ton with most believing the adjustments will be in the $20 per ton range for obsolete grades and $30 per ton […] The post Ferrous Scrap Prices Poised to Drop in October appeared first on Steel Market Update.
This area of the Steel Market Update newsletter is reserved for me to be able to provide my thoughts/opinions on a variety of subjects and our readers clearly know where these comments are coming from. I have been asked on a number of occasions to comment on “rumors” of a domestic mill flat rolled price […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: The focus in HR this past week has been primarily in Q4’16 and 1H’17. Futures prices have dropped to the psychological $500 level […] The post Hot Rolled Futures Drop to the Pychological $500 Level appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Steel Dynamics expects stronger profits in third quarter due to meaningful metal spread expansion. In the company’s third quarter guidance, SDI said higher steel pricing in Q3 will more than offset higher scrap prices, however, improved margins will be impacted by lower steel shipments across the product platform. Higher earnings for third quarter are driven […] The post SDI Flat Roll Operations Drive Stronger Profits for Q3 appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Nucor Corporation announced today that it has agreed to acquire Independence Tube Corporation (ITC), a leading independent manufacturer of hollow structural section (HSS) steel tubing, for $435 million, or approximately 6x average EBITDA over the 2013-2015 period. “Independence Tube is a natural fit with Nucor. Their business model is similar to ours with extremely efficient […] The post Nucor to Acquire Independence Tube Corp. appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Scrap prices surprised scrap dealers and have deteriorated more than what was expected going into September negotiations with the domestic steel mills. Here is how one of the national scrap companies portrayed the tone of the negotiations: “As you can imagine, it’s been a hectic time since the return from the holiday last week. As […] The post A Look at Midwest Scrap Pricing for September appeared first on Steel Market Update.
When speaking to one of the main ferrous scrap analysts in the industry our newsletter was paid a compliment when I asked if the scrap community was aware of our newsletter. I was told, “They do already. Many of them have a lot of confidence in your reports. They refer to it more often then […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The uncertainty in the market (called the “blahs” by a number of our steel sources) is affecting both buyers and sellers of steel. Steel mills have been doing all that they can in an attempt to keep flat rolled steel prices from slipping too far. One of our mill sources had a sense of humor […] The post Steel Mills Battle Market Blahs appeared first on Steel Market Update.
SMU scrap sources advised ferrous scrap prices have settled in Detroit with prime grades (Busheling and bundles) moving lower by $30 per gross ton and shredded scrap by $20 per gross ton. Dealers had been hoping that a slower flow of feeder stock into the yards coupled with stronger buying by long products mills might […] The post September Scrap Negotiations Continue as Detroit Settles Down $30 on Primes appeared first on Steel Market Update.